Spectres: When Fashion Turns Back

Photographs from one of my favourite books

Spectres sets out to reveal the shadows and experiences that form a 'fashion memory' in contemporary dress. In showing the hidden, yet haunting, connections between recent fashion and its past, it uses pieces drawn from avant-garde designers, from the V&A fashion collection and from the archive at ModeMuseum in Antwerp.

Set up as a series of fairground attractions, Spectres invites the visitor into a labyrinth of associations: a shadow lantern throws silhouettes, enlarged maquettes look like games for grown-ups, rotating cogs make and break patterns.

In creating this experimental show, fashion curator Judith Clark invited fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo to provide the drawings, avant-garde jeweller Naomi Filmer to create mannequin prosthetics and fashion theorist Caroline Evans to lend quotations that evoke the complexity of dress today.

Elsa Shiaperelli The Skeleton Dress 1938

Dries Van Noten S/S 2000
Hamish Morrow SS 02

Gaultier HC/S/S 04

Jurgi Persoons Lace Dress A/W 99/00

Doir spring/summer1959

McQueen A/W 01/02

Elsa Shiaparelli Circus Jacket detail 1937

Ann Demeulemeester autumn/winter 04/05 - A.F Vandevorst leather corset with saddle, khaki felt frock coat and pants A/W98/99

Yohji Yamamoto autumn/winter1991/92

Chanel HC by Largerfeld S/S 02

Gown detail silk polonaise late 1770's Dress coat and waistcoat, silk 1745

Dress with floral detail 1955/60

Installation Ruben Toledo

Installation Ruben Toledo

Installation Ruben Toledo

Installation Naomi Filmer

Installation Naomi Filmer

Installation Naomi Filmer

Geisha fashion photographs and Dream Garden

I found these lovely geisha photoshoots in the newspapers glossy last weekend. Impossible hairstyles but so fresh and summery. I also found these garden photographs that would go beautifully in ours

Mini Hat collection

Pheasant Fascinator

Madame Fanny

Lime Cherry

Edwardian Rose

Deer in the back Garden

We have quite few deer around the place and the little one that we put out hay for in the winter has started to come up o the back garden and munch on the grass outside the kitchen window.

I wish I'd done more to that before I sold it

I really do, or at least taken a better selection of pics then I did of it.
I'm talking about my Black Widow fascinator hat with the horned head lace. I can make up one like it but it was the only spider decoration I have and I've never seen the lace anywhere else.
I suppose its special goth lace but I don't know where I got it it was just in my pile of lace bits and bobs.

black widow view1
black widow view 2


Spider Detail

Horn Head Lace

I'll post pics of the other ones I made tomorrow

Why Oxford is a impossible place to be creative and Yarn Graffiti

1: No art, crafty or design ,material shops to speak of.
2: Our only fabric shop closed early this year and all we have is one art shop and one little yarn shop
3: Mass cheap imports everywhere you go
4: People look at you funny if you try and sell your stuff at a decent price because its all handmade in the UK
5: Everyone pushes London as the bee all and and all of the universe but I'm not a big city girl I like to be able to breath
6: having to travel for an hour on the bus to buy a sewing needle.

So time for some Knit Graffiti I think. I know its been going on for ages in America and is getting around in this country but I've not heard anything in this area.

So plan of action.
1: I have a load of what I term *nasty* yarn, acrylic fuzzy stuff that I usually use to try out a rough idea before forking out on decent stuff and I'm planning next week to go into town with a load of knitted/crochet stuff and start decorating.

2: get some labels printed out on my printer just in case no one realises what it is.

3: Yarn Graffiti or RoseOak Studio. the first one would be fun but he second one would be shameless self promotion and I could do with a bit of that right now although I'm not sure I want to be that connected with DK 100% plastic survive nuclear blast neon yarn but needs must.

4: crochet flowers are a must as its summer but only only the month not by the weather

Updating Website

This week I will be totally revamping my website from scratch. You will still be able to do everything you could before whilst I am building the new site but hopefully before long RoseOak will have a brand spanking new look.

Flower Photographs

Cuffs

I've been working on some decorative cuffs lately and instead of going for the goth/rococo look I've been using the theme of summer and using lace,flowers,seed beads and bright embroidery. I have some delightfull vintage lace with a yellow flower and white branch designthat I have been using for both base and applique